"Hopefully I can start to play a little bit better," said Murray, who has already reached the doubles quarter-finals alongside fellow Briton Dominic Inglot.

"Every win is important right now at the start of the clay season to get a feel for what is going well and what isn't."

'I fought as hard as I could'

Murray recovered from a seemingly hopeless position to earn a vital win as he looks to build some form heading into the French Open next month.

Since returning to action following the birth of his daughter in February, the Scot had lost his second matches in Indian Wells and Miami last month - and looked on course for another early exit in Monte Carlo.

Paire served for the biggest win of his career - he is now 5-20 against top-10 opponents

"He gave me an opportunity in the middle part of the second set when he started to make a few mistakes," added Murray.

"It still wasn't my best match, but I fought as hard as I could right to the end and managed to get the win based on that."